Validating asset movement using virtual tripwires and a rfid-enabled asset management system

ABSTRACT

Validation of asset movement can begin with the definition of a virtual tripwire for video cameras of a video surveillance system that monitor a defined area of interest through which RFID-identified assets are conveyed. The virtual tripwire can visually define a boundary within the view field of the video camera. The video camera can detect the movement of an asset through a virtual tripwire and an asset management system can be notified of the potential misdirection of the asset. The asset management system can obtain the asset&#39;s RFID data from a RFID handling system that monitors the area of interest. The validity of the detected movement can be determined using RFID data and an asset movement specification that defines pathing rules for assets and virtual tripwires. When the movement of the asset is determined to be invalid, a record of suspect movement data can be generated for the asset.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to the field of asset management and,more particularly, to a validating asset movement using virtualtripwires and a radio-frequency identification (RFID) enabled assetmanagement system.

Monitoring the movement of assets through large and/or complexconveyance systems is often a daunting task. The misdirection of assetsthrough these systems requires time and effort to rectify, and even moreto determine the cause in order to prevent additional occurrences. Inthe attempt to reduce asset misdirection, many asset management systemsutilize radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems to track assetmovements as well as video surveillance systems to create visualrecords.

Further, some of these asset management systems (those utilizing videosurveillance and RFID systems) include notification capabilities when anasset does not follow its route past predefined RFID readers. Whilehelpful, such notifications by the RFID system do not provide an overallpicture of the problem. A video record of the problem was captured bythe video surveillance system. However, the user must search through thevideo archive in order to find the feeds from the video camerasassociated with the RFID readers that detected the problem and thenreview these feeds for the appropriate time segment.

Thus, users of these current implementations of asset management systemsthat utilize video surveillance and RFID systems are required tomanually aggregate video data in order to review detected problems.Further, the user must utilize additional tools and/or systems in orderto save the aggregated data for future trend analysis tasks.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure can include a method for validatingasset movement. Such a method can begin with the definition of a virtualtripwire for a video camera of a video surveillance system that monitorsa defined area of interest through which assets are conveyed. Thevirtual tripwire can visually define a boundary within a view field ofthe video camera. Assets can be identified by an attachedradio-frequency identification (RFID) tag. The movement of an assetthrough a virtual tripwire can be detected by a video camera. Thismovement of the asset through the virtual tripwire can be considered asa potential misdirection of the asset. An asset management system can benotified of the potential misdirection of the asset. The notificationcan include the location of the video camera having detected thepotential misdirection and the time of the detected movement. The assetmanagement system can obtain RFID data for the asset from a RFIDhandling system that monitors the area of interest. The validity of themovement of the asset through the virtual tripwire can then bedetermined based upon the RFID data and an asset movement specification.The asset movement specification can define pathing rules for assets andvirtual tripwires. When the movement of the asset is determined to beinvalid, a record of suspect movement data can be generated to documentthe movement of the asset through the virtual tripwire.

Another aspect of the present disclosure can include a system forvalidating asset movement. Such a system can include RFID-identifiedassets, a video surveillance system, a RFID handling system, an assetmovement specification, and an asset management system. The videosurveillance system can include multiple video cameras that monitor adefined area of interest. Each video camera can be capable of havingvirtual tripwires defined within its view field. The video surveillancesystem can be configured to detect the movement of an asset through avirtual tripwire. The RFID handling system can include RFID readersconfigured to capture RFID data from RFID tags that pass through thedefined area of interest. The asset movement specification can definepathing rules for the assets and virtual tripwires associated with thevideo cameras. Assets can be referenced within the asset movementspecification using the RFID data contained in their associated RFIDtag. The asset management system can be configured to capture suspectmovement data for asset movements through the defined area of interestdeemed invalid with respect to the asset movement specification. Thesuspect movement data can include video data of the movement from thevideo surveillance system and the RFID data of the asset collected bythe RFID handling system.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure can include a computerprogram product that includes a computer readable storage medium havingembedded computer usable program code. The computer usable program codeconfigured to receive notification of the potential misdirection of anasset through a defined area of interest from a video surveillancesystem. The potential misdirection can represent the movement of theasset through a virtual tripwire associated with a video camera thatmonitors the defined area of interest. The notification can include thelocation of the video camera having detected the potential misdirectionand the time of the detected movement. The computer usable program codecan also be configured to obtain RFID data for the asset from a RFIDhandling system that monitors the defined area of interest. The computerusable program code can be configured to determine the validity of themovement of the asset through the virtual tripwire based upon the RFIDdata and an asset movement specification. The asset movementspecification can define pathing rules for assets and virtual tripwires.When the movement of the asset is determined to be invalid, the computerusable program code can be configured to generate a record of suspectmovement data to document the movement of the asset through the virtualtripwire.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system that utilizesvirtual tripwires to initiate the validation of the movement of an assetby an asset management system in accordance with embodiments of theinventive arrangements disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method describing the general interactionbetween components when validating asset movements in accordance with anembodiment of the inventive arrangements disclosed herein.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method illustrating the operation of anasset management system utilizing a movement validation component inaccordance with an embodiment of the inventive arrangements disclosedherein.

FIG. 4 is an illustrated process flow exemplifying the validation ofasset movements using virtual tripwires and RFID identification with anasset management system in accordance with embodiments of the inventivearrangements disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure teaches a solution that for determining thevalidity of a RFID-identified asset's movement through a defined area ofinterest. A video surveillance system having video cameras for whichvirtual tripwires can be defined can detect asset movement through avirtual tripwire, triggering a tripwire event. The tripwire event can besent to an asset management system having a movement validationcomponent. The movement validation component can request the identifyingRFID data for the asset from the RFID handling system. Using the RFIDdata and an asset movement specification, the movement validationcomponent can determine validity of the asset's movement through thevirtual tripwire. Data regarding invalid asset movements can beaggregated and stored as suspect movement data for later review.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentdisclosure may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure may take theform of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing. Computer program code for carrying out operations foraspects of the present disclosure may be written in any combination ofone or more programming languages, including an object orientedprogramming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The program codemay execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user'scomputer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through any type of network, includinga local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or theconnection may be made to an external computer (for example, through theInternet using an Internet Service Provider).

Aspects of the present disclosure are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system 100 that utilizesvirtual tripwires 117 to initiate the validation of the movement of anasset 110 by an asset management system 145 in accordance withembodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosed herein. In system100, data captured by a video surveillance system 125 andradio-frequency identification (RFID) handling system 135 can beconveyed over a network 185 for use by an asset management system 145 tovalidate the movements of assets 110 in a defined area of interest 105.

The area of interest 105 can represent a specific location along thepath that the assets 110 travel as part of their processing. Forexample, the area of interest 105 can correspond to a portion of aproduction line where shipping boxes 110 are sorted into specificcontainers.

An asset 110 can represent a single unit (i.e., a part or a box ofparts) that is being tracked by the asset management system 145. Theassets 110 can be moved within the area of interest 105 by manual orautomated means, or a combination thereof. A RFID tag 112 containingidentifying RFID data 113 can be attached to each asset 110.

The video surveillance system 125 can represent a system that collectsvideo data 118 from video cameras 120. Video data 118 captured by thevideo cameras 120 can be conveyed to a centralized server for storage ina video archive 127.

Each video camera 120 can be positioned to have a unique view field 115within the area of interest 105. The portion of the area of interest 105enclosed within the view field 115 of a video camera 120 can vary basedon the operating parameters (i.e., magnification, focal point,resolution, etc.) and/or positioning of the video camera 120.

The video cameras 120 can be of the type having real-time analyticcapabilities and can be configured to utilize virtual tripwires 117. Avirtual tripwire 117 can represent a user-defined line drawn within theview field 115 of the video camera 120 using an associated softwareapplication (not shown) of the video surveillance system 125.

A virtual tripwire 117 can be used to mark a threshold within the viewfield 115 of the video camera 120 where passage of an asset 110 mayindicate mishandling, a problem in the conveyance process, or anothertype of process error. For example, a virtual tripwire 117 can be drawnalong a side of a conveyor belt in the view field 115 of a video camera120. An asset 110 that falls off the side of the conveyor belt can breakthe virtual tripwire 117.

When the movement of an asset 110 passes through a virtual tripwire 117,the video surveillance system 125 can generate and send a tripwire event140 to the asset management system 145. The tripwire event 140 canrepresent an electronic message containing pertinent informationregarding the crossing of the virtual tripwire 117. Examples ofinformation included in the tripwire event 140 can include, but are notlimited to, an identifier of the video camera 120, location of the videocamera 120, time at which the event occurred, video data 118corresponding to the event, and the like.

The asset management system 145 can represent a computing systemconfigured to record asset 110 movements. In addition to components usedfor asset 110 tracking, the asset management system 145 can include amovement validation component 150 and a data store 155 containing aasset movement specification 160 and suspect movement data 165. Themovement validation component 150 can represent the software element ofthe asset management system 145 configured to determine the validity ofasset 110 movements that cross virtual tripwires 117.

When the asset management system 145 receives a tripwire event 140 fromthe video surveillance system 125, the movement validation component 150can be invoked. The movement validation component 150 can utilize theinformation contained in the tripwire event 140 to obtain the RFID data113 for the suspect asset 110 (i.e., the asset 110 that crossed thevirtual tripwire 117) from the RFID handling system 135.

The RFID handling system 135 can represent the components necessary tocollect and/or process RFID data 113. The RFID handling system 135 caninclude multiple RFID readers 130 positioned around and/or within thearea of interest 105 capable of reading the RFID tags 112 of the movingassets 110. Positioning of the RFID readers 130 can be such so as tolimit cross-interference and/or the reading of multiple RFID tags 112.

The RFID handling system 135 can be further configured to compensate forinvalid or incomplete readings of RFID tags 112 (i.e., retriggering thesame RFID reader 130 or triggering a different RFID reader 130). Thecollection of RFID data 113 by the RFID handling system 135 can varybased upon implementation.

In one embodiment, the RFID handling system 135 can continuously collectRFID data 113 for assets 110. The collected RFID data 113 can beuniquely stored in a centralized data store (not shown). In such anembodiment, the movement validation component 150 can simply request thestored RFID data 113 that corresponds to the time and location of thevideo camera 120.

In another embodiment, the collection of RFID data 113 by the RFIDhandling system 135 can be on an “as needed” basis. In such anembodiment, the movement validation component 150 can trigger the RFIDhandling system 135 to collect RFID data 113 for the suspect asset 110.The collected RFID data 113 can be provided directly to the assetmanagement system 145 without storage by the RFID handling sy stem 135.

In yet another embodiment, the video surveillance system 125 and RFIDhandling system 135 can be integrated together as described in U.S. Pat.No. 6,998,987 B2. However, such an integrated video/RFID tracking systemwould require modification to utilize video cameras 120 having virtualtripwire 117 capabilities. In such an embodiment, the integratedvideo/RFID tracking system can provide the asset management system 145with video data 118 of the asset 110 and its RFID data 113 in thetripwire event 140.

Once the movement validation component 150 receives the RFID data 113for the suspect asset 110, the movement validation component 150 candetermine the validity of the asset's 110 movement through the virtualtripwire 117. To make this determination, the movement validationcomponent 150 can utilize the asset movement specification 160.

The asset movement specification 160 can represent pathing rules thatcorrelate the identification information of an asset 110 and virtualtripwires 117 that the asset can or cannot move through. The pathingrules of the asset movement specification 160 can be written usingBOOLEAN logic and/or regular expressions, such that an evaluation of apathing rule as FALSE indicates an invalid movement of the asset 110.

For example, the asset movement specification 160 can define that anyasset 110 cannot break a virtual tripwire 117 marking the side edge of aconveyor belt is invalid or suspect (*!=Tripwire A).

In another example, the asset movement specification 160 can state thatonly assets 110 identified as “electronics” are supposed to travel on adesignated conveyor belt in a distribution center. In such an example,every asset 110 that crosses the virtual tripwire 117 for the designatedconveyor belt would have its RFID data 113 evaluated for an“electronics” identifier.

When the movement of an asset 110 is determined as suspect, the movementvalidation component 150 can create suspect movement data 165 record.The suspect movement data 165 can include information pertinent to thesuspect asset 110 and/or tripwire event 140.

As shown in this example, the suspect movement data 165 can include theRFID data 113 and video data 118 of the suspect asset 110. Additionally,the suspect movement data 165 can be configured to include metadatakeywords, the tripwire event 140 data, and/or other pertinent dataitems.

Depending upon the contents of the tripwire event 140, the movementvalidation component 150 may need to request the video data 118 of theasset 110 movement from the video surveillance system 125 for inclusionin the suspect movement data 165. As such, the movement validationcomponent 150 can be configured to request a segment of video data 118that encompasses the asset's 110 movement through the virtual tripwire117 (i.e., 5 seconds prior to passage through the virtual tripwire 117and 10 seconds after). The movement validation component 150 can also beconfigured to request video data 118 from neighboring video cameras 120for the same time period.

The movement validation component 150 can then generate and send amovement alert 167 to a designated user 180. The movement alert 167 cancontain information regarding the suspect incident such as a portion ofthe suspect movement data 165, the entirety of the suspect movement data165, or a uniform resource locator (URL) for the specific record ofsuspect movement data 165.

A user 180 can review suspect movement data 165 from a user interface175 running on a client device 170. The client device 170 can representa variety of computing devices capable of communicating with the assetmanagement system 145 over network 185.

The user interface 175 can represent the interaction mechanism by whichthe user 180 can access the suspect movement data 165. User interface175 can be an element or functional component of the standard userinterface associated with the asset management system 145. Additionally,the user interface 175 can include software components necessary forviewing the video data 118 contained in the suspect movement data 165record.

It is important to note that the functionality of the movementvalidation component 150 of the asset management system 145 does notpropose corrective actions for asset 110 movements determined to beinvalid or suspect. That is, determination of the validity of theasset's 110 pathway can be performed after the asset 110 has moved ontoa suspect path. The suspect movement data 165 record created by themovement validation component 150 can provide the user 180 with a singledata aggregate of pertinent information for review.

Network 185 can include any hardware/software/and firmware necessary toconvey data encoded within carrier waves. Data can be contained withinanalog or digital signals and conveyed though data or voice channels.Network 185 can include local components and data pathways necessary forcommunications to be exchanged among computing device components andbetween integrated device components and peripheral devices. Network 185can also include network equipment, such as routers, data lines, hubs,and intermediary servers which together form a data network, such as theInternet. Network 185 can also include circuit-based communicationcomponents and mobile communication components, such as telephonyswitches, modems, cellular communication towers, and the like. Network185 can include line based and/or wireless communication pathways.

As used herein, presented data store 155 and archive 127 can be aphysical or virtual storage space configured to store digitalinformation. Data store 155 and archive 127 can be physicallyimplemented within any type of hardware including, but not limited to, amagnetic disk, an optical disk, a semiconductor memory, a digitallyencoded plastic memory, a holographic memory, or any other recordingmedium. Data store 155 and archive 127 can be stand-alone storage unitsas well as a storage unit formed from a plurality of physical devices.Additionally, information can be stored within data store 155 andarchive 127 in a variety of manners. For example, information can bestored within a database structure or can be stored within one or morefiles of a file storage system, where each file may or may not beindexed for information searching purposes. Further, data store 155and/or archive 127 can utilize one or more encryption mechanisms toprotect stored information from unauthorized access.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method 200 describing the generalinteraction between components when validating asset movements inaccordance with embodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosedherein. Method 200 can be performed within the context of system 100 orany other system configured to utilize virtual tripwires and RFID datafor validating asset movements.

Method 200 can begin in step 205 where a user can define at least onevirtual tripwire for each video camera monitoring the area of interest.It should be noted that virtual tripwires should only be defined forvideo cameras whose view fields encompass a region of the area ofinterest where errors or problems are likely to occur.

For example, defining virtual tripwires for a video camera whose viewfield encompasses a divergence of the movement track (i.e., a singleconveyor belt that splits into multiple conveyor belts) can providebetter problem feedback regarding asset movement than defining a virtualtripwire for a video camera whose view field focuses on the displaypanel of a machine.

The movement of an asset within the area of interest can break a virtualtripwire in step 210. In step 215, the video surveillance system cansend a tripwire event to the asset management system. The assetmanagement system can obtain the RFID tag data of the suspect asset fromthe RFID handling system in step 220.

In step 225, the asset management system can identify the suspect assetbased upon the obtained RFID tag data. The asset management system candetermine the validity of the asset movement through the virtualtripwire in step 230.

When the asset's movement is determined to be valid, step 235 canexecute where the asset management system can record that the asset'smovement is valid. Step 235 can be performed as part of asset trackingin response to the tripwire event.

In another embodiment, the asset management system can simply perform noadditional actions for step 235, since the asset has been determined tobe on a valid path.

When the asset's movement is determined to be invalid, step 240 canexecute where the asset management system generates a record in thesuspect movement data.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method 300 illustrating the operation of anasset management system utilizing a movement validation component inaccordance with embodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosedherein. Method 300 can be performed within the context of system 100and/or method 200.

Method 300 can begin in step 305 where the asset management system canreceive a tripwire event from the video surveillance system. RFID datafor the suspect asset can be obtained in step 310. In step 315, theasset movement specification can be checked.

The validity of the asset movement can be determined in step 320. Whenthe asset movement is determined to be valid, step 325 can execute wherethe validity of the movement can be recorded. Alternately, no additionalactions can be performed in step 325, since the asset has beendetermined to be on a valid path.

When the asset movement is determined to be invalid, step 330 canexecute where a new record of suspect movement data can be created. Avideo segment containing the suspect movement can be extracted from thecaptured video data in step 335.

In step 340, the extracted video segment and RFID data can be added tothe new suspect movement data record. The new suspect movement datarecord can be stored in step 345. A movement alert can be sent to adesignated user in step 350.

FIG. 4 is an illustrated process flow 400 exemplifying the validation ofasset 410 movements using virtual tripwires 422 and RFID identificationwith an asset management system 435 in accordance with embodiments ofthe inventive arrangements disclosed herein. Process flow 400 can beperformed within the context of system 100 and/or in conjunction withmethods 200 and/or 300.

Process flow 400 can illustrate an area of interest 405 that encompassesa Y-shaped intersection of a pathway 407 upon which assets 410 areconveyed. Pathway 407 can represent a variety of conveyance mechanismsincluding, but not limited to, conveyor belts, rollers, inclined planes,combinations thereof, and the like.

For example, area of interest 405 can correspond to a section of anautomated shipping system where assets 410 are directed down a leg ofthe Y-intersection based upon one or more criteria, such as shippinglocation, contents, and/or shipping method.

Direction of an asset 410 can be performed manually (i.e., a workerpushes or places an asset 410 towards a specific leg of theintersection) or using an automated mechanism similar to the barrier 408shown in this example. Such a barrier 408 can be used to prevent anasset 410 from utilizing a leg of the Y-intersection. Depending upon themechanisms utilized by the pathway 407, the barrier 408 can changepositions, manually or automatically, changing which leg of theY-intersection assets 410 are directed down.

In this example, a video camera 415 can be positioned such that the viewfield 420 of the video camera 415 focuses upon the right leg of theY-intersection. It should be noted that additional video cameras 415 canalso simultaneously monitor the area of interest 405 and that the videocamera 415 monitoring the right leg of the Y-intersection can be used inthis example to represent the general operation of any of such videocameras 415.

Within the view field 420 of the video camera 415, a virtual tripwire422 can be defined across the right leg of Y-intersection. Thus, anyasset 410 traveling along the pathway 407 that is directed down theright leg of the Y-intersection can be seen within the view field 420 aspassing through or breaking the virtual tripwire 422, as shown in thisexample by the dashed arrow indicating the asset's 410 movement.

The video camera 415 can, therefore, detect when the movement of anasset 410 breaks the virtual tripwire 422 in the view field 420. When anasset 410 breaks the virtual tripwire 422, the video camera 415 cantrigger the video surveillance system 425 to generate a tripwire event430. The video surveillance system 425 can then send the tripwire event430 to the asset management system 435.

In this example embodiment, the asset management system 435 can thenrequest RFID data 455 for the asset 410 from the RFID handling system445. The RFID handling system 445 can activate a RFID reader 450proximate to the asset 410, based upon the request sent by the assetmanagement system 435.

For example, the tripwire event 430 can indicate that the triggeringvideo camera 415 is at Location A. The RFID handling system 445 caninclude functionality to automatically determine which RFID reader 450is closest to Location A.

The activated RFID reader 450 can then read the RFID data 455 from theRFID tag 412 attached to the asset 410 and convey the RFID data 455 tothe RFID handling system 445, which passes the RFID data 455 to theasset management system 435. Alternately, depending upon theconnectivity configuration of the RFID readers 450, RFID handling system445, and asset management system 435, the RFID reader 450 can beconfigured to convey the RFID data 455 directly to the asset managementsystem 435, bypassing the RFID handling system 445.

Once the asset management system 435 receives the RFID data 455 of theasset 410, the movement validation component 440 can consult the assetmovement specification 460 to determine if travel down the right leg ofthe Y-intersection has been defined as valid or acceptable for the asset410.

When the movement of the asset 410 is determined invalid, the movementvalidation component 440 can create a record of suspect movement data470 within data store 465. The movement validation component 440 canthen send a movement alert 475 to a designated user 480.

The user 480 can then review the suspect movement data 470 for thistripwire event 430 and also search the suspect movement data 470 forother similar incidences where this specific virtual tripwire 422 hasbeen tripped. While this type of review process is not uncommon, itshould be emphasized that conventional processes require the user 480 toaggregate the various data items pertaining to the incident.

As used herein, presented data store 465 can be a physical or virtualstorage space configured to store digital information. Data store 465can be physically implemented within any type of hardware including, butnot limited to, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a semiconductormemory, a digitally encoded plastic memory, a holographic memory, or anyother recording medium. Data store 465 can be a stand-alone storage unitas well as a storage unit formed from a plurality of physical devices.Additionally, information can be stored within data store 465 in avariety of manners. For example, information can be stored within adatabase structure or can be stored within one or more files of a filestorage system, where each file may or may not be indexed forinformation searching purposes. Further, data store 465 can utilize oneor more encryption mechanisms to protect stored information fromunauthorized access.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A method, implemented by an asset managementsystem, for validating a movement of an asset having an attached radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag, comprising: determining that themovement of an asset is invalid based upon a virtual tripwire eventassociated with the asset, RFID data from the attached RFID tag, and anasset movement specification for the asset; and generating, based uponthe determination that the movement is invalid, a suspect movement datarecord, wherein the suspect movement data record includes: the RFIDdata, information pertaining to the virtual trip event.
 22. The methodof claim 21, wherein the information pertaining to the virtual tripevent includes video data of the asset.
 23. The method of claim 22,wherein the video data includes video data from a video camera thatcaptured the virtual tripwire event and video data, contemporaneous withthe virtual tripwire event, from at least one other neighboring videocamera.
 24. The method of claim 22, wherein the video data includes apredefined period of video relative to a time of the virtual tripwireevent.
 25. The method of claim 21, wherein the RFID data includes anidentity of the asset.
 26. The method of claim 21, wherein the assetmanagement system is configured to request the RFID data from an RFIDhandling system based upon receiving information indicating the virtualtripwire event.
 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the RFID handlingsystem is configured to determine a RFID reader closest to a location ofa video camera that captured the virtual tripwire event, and activatethe determined RFID reader to capture the RFID data of the asset. 28.The method of claim 21, wherein the determination that the movement isinvalid is based upon a pathing rule in the asset movement specificationbeing evaluated as FALSE.
 29. A computer hardware system including anasset management system configured to validate a movement of an assethaving an attached radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, comprisinga hardware processor configured to execute the following operations:determining that the movement of an asset is invalid based upon avirtual tripwire event associated with the asset, RFID data from theattached RFID tag, and an asset movement specification for the asset;and generating, based upon the determination that the movement isinvalid, a suspect movement data record, wherein the suspect movementdata record includes: the RFID data, information pertaining to thevirtual trip event.
 30. The system of claim 29, wherein the informationpertaining to the virtual trip event includes video data of the asset.31. The system of claim 30, wherein the video data includes video datafrom a video camera that captured the virtual tripwire event and videodata, contemporaneous with the virtual tripwire event, from at least oneother neighboring video camera.
 32. The system of claim 30, wherein thevideo data includes a predefined period of video relative to a time ofthe virtual tripwire event.
 33. The system of claim 29, wherein the RFIDdata includes an identity of the asset.
 34. The system of claim 29,wherein the asset management system is configured to request the RFIDdata from an RFID handling system based upon receiving informationindicating the virtual tripwire event.
 35. The system of claim 34,wherein the RFID handling system is configured to determine a RFIDreader closest to a location of a video camera that captured the virtualtripwire event, and activate the determined RFID reader to capture theRFID data of the asset.
 36. The system of claim 29, wherein thedetermination that the movement is invalid is based upon a pathing rulein the asset movement specification being evaluated as FALSE.
 37. Acomputer program product, comprising a computer readable hardwarestorage device having stored therein program code for validating amovement of an asset having an attached radio frequency identification(RFID) tag, the program code, which when executed by a computer hardwaresystem including an asset management system, causes the computerhardware system to perform: determining that the movement of an asset isinvalid based upon a virtual tripwire event associated with the asset,RFID data from the attached RFID tag, and an asset movementspecification for the asset; and generating, based upon thedetermination that the movement is invalid, a suspect movement datarecord, wherein the suspect movement data record includes: the RFIDdata, information pertaining to the virtual trip event.
 38. The computerprogram product of claim 37, wherein the information pertaining to thevirtual trip event includes video data of the asset.
 39. The computerprogram product of claim 37, wherein the asset management system isconfigured to request the RFID data from an RFID handling system basedupon receiving information indicating the virtual tripwire event. 40.The computer program product of claim 39, wherein the RFID handlingsystem is configured to determine a RFID reader closest to a location ofa video camera that captured the virtual tripwire event, and activatethe determined RFID reader to capture the RFID data of the asset.